| Brian paced back and forth, annoying the others who were trying to eat their lunch. They had been filming for a day already and Brian was driving them all crazy. He hadn’t mentioned his plan to them and they had no idea why he was so worked up so his behaviour was a puzzle to them. Any time now he was expecting her to arrive. Any time now his life might change forever. Which way he didn’t know but it was no wonder he was pacing back and forth as he was. “Brian, for God’s sake will you sit down and eat something. Stop moving around like a caged tiger, you are making me edgy,” Kevin said to him as Brian passed him yet again. “Sorry,” Brian said not paying attention to Kevin, his eyes were directed at the door and he began to pace again. The door flung open and he jumped, but it was only one of the crew who had come in to grab a bite to eat. When was she going to get here, he wondered. “Brian!” Kevin yelled. Brian turned and looked at Kevin. “What on earth has you so jumpy? I have never seen you like this.” He realised that the others were now quite serious about the way he was behaving and he needed to calm down. He took a deep breath and let it out. “Sorry guys. I just have something on my mind.” He could tell they were about to ask so he rushed on. “It’s not something I want to share just yet.” He looked around for an excuse to move away. “I’ll just go and get some lunch.” He hardly felt like eating, but it got him away from their prying eyes. He loved the guys, but he couldn’t share this with them. He’d kept it bottled up for the past three years he wasn’t about to let it all spill out now, the day he hoped everything might turn out right again. The casting director noticed Brian standing at the food table just staring at the food. He came up to him and peeked over his shoulder. “Nothing very appealing there?” he asked him, a measure of humour in his voice. “I think I know what you would prefer.” Brian grunted at him, not really wishing to talk about it with him. “I’m afraid to tell you, you have to wait another day.” This got Brian’s attention. “Another day! Why?” He had worked himself up to today, mentally preparing himself, and now it wasn’t going to happen. The man shrugged. “The director said he wasn’t ready for them yet,” he said to him meaning the female leads, and Brian turned to look at the director sitting at the table with some of the crew and threw a look filled with daggers in his direction. “… said he wants to finish with you guys first. Truth be know, I think he is afraid having Miss Hart here for too long is going to break the budget of the video. She is worth quite a bit in contracts these days.” “Why? Is she demanding a huge payment?” Brian’s heart sank at the thought that Belle would return to him only for the contract she was offered. “Actually, I have no idea. I’m the damn casting director, but she wouldn’t work through me. All I was told was that she would do the video. All further negotiation was done with someone else. And I don’t even know who.” Brian looked confused. “That’s not how it is usually done is it?” He shrugged. “Nope, never known it to happen before. Hey as long as she shows up I will be happy.” “She was contracted wasn’t she? She IS coming isn’t she?” Brian asked, suddenly worried that maybe it was all a hoax and he was building himself up for nothing. “Oh yeah, she’s coming.” He eyed Brian warily. “You got a history with her or something?” Brian frowned and turned away, pretending to be very interested by the contents of the sandwiches in front of him. “I’d rather not talk about it, and I would like it that you don’t speculate with any of the other crew.” He shot a warning glance at him. “Hey, my lips are sealed. I can be very discreet. Not a word about it anymore.” He laughed as he said it, lightening the mood again. “Thanks,” Brian said to him, turning to walk away with his plate of food. He didn’t even know what he had taken. He walked to an unoccupied table and sat down on his own. He didn’t feel up to talking to anyone right now. Another day, he had to wait another day! ********** “This isn’t fair Maureen. We had a contract with them and now this interview is going to break it.” Belle complained. “It’s okay Belle, don’t panic. They are fully aware of the hold up and it’s been fit into the schedule. Why are you so concerned about this contract? It’s not as if it is anything major, and you accepted a meagre payment” the older woman said to her. Belle trusted Maureen with everything except this one thing. No one knew how she felt about Brian and she wasn’t about to explain now. “Every contract is important Maureen regardless of what it is and how much I am being paid. You have always stressed that to me.” Belle said quietly. Truth was she would have done this contract for nothing. “Yes, and that includes this interview Belle. Now come on. If you aren’t going to tell me why this video shoot is so vital to you, lets get going. The sooner you do this interview the sooner you can get to the video shoot.” That was the thing that kept Belle going. Within a day she would see Brian again. Within a day she would know if they had a future or if all her yearning had been for nothing. She had prayed this day would finally come and it would break her heart if it turned out to be for nothing. If that were the case she would then throw herself into her work as she had for the last three years. She had been romantically linked to many of her co-stars before, but she knew none of them were true or would ever likely to be true. The media prayed on their private life, one of the aspects she despised about the business, but she never gave them anything but their imaginations to work with. Her heart belonged to one man. She just needed to find out where his belonged. It had to be him though. He had to be the one who had instigated her contract for this video shoot. Who else would want her? Then again maybe the director thought it would be a good idea to have the same actresses and Brian in fact, knew nothing about her coming. What if he shunned her when she arrived? She sighed heavily and wriggled around in her seat. She should have asked. Well, it was too late now. She thought about the three days that had changed her life as they travelled towards the interview. She sighed blissfully when she thought about her one date with Brian. The fun they had flirting with each other brought a smile to her face. She closed her eyes and imagined him holding her in his arms on the dance floor again. They’d been so perfect in each other’s arms. Many times she had been in a co-star’s arms, but it was never the same as being in Brian’s. But it was when he kissed her that she knew she was complete. The look in his vivid blue eyes darkening with desire as he was going to kiss her remained with her since that moment. She never had any trouble remembering how Brian felt, how he tasted. But every time she did her thoughts ended in anguish at the way she had to leave him without so much as a goodbye. A letter hardly said what she felt about him. She had told him she was scared and as time had gone by, her fear had been realised. She sighed again. She was going to fix things. She simply had to. ********** Brian lay on his bed feeling despondent with the way the day had gone. He had woken this morning feeling alive, excited at the thought of seeing Belle again. He never dreamt he would feel this energized again. All he could think about was Belle, and how he had gotten through the morning’s filming he had no idea. He could recall nothing of the morning. All he could see was Belle’s beauty. His afternoon had turned into a complete contrast to the excitement of the morning. Since hearing that Belle would not be arriving till the following morning, Brian’s mood had taken a downward slide. He noticed no one wanted to be near him, making a wide berth of him, which he was glad of because he didn’t feel in the mood to talk to anyone. He scowled at anyone who came anywhere near him sending the message to everyone loud and clear. The moment he was able to escape to his room that night he bolted. He didn’t feel like eating with the guys, not even feeling like ordering anything else. All that occupied his mind was Belle. He sighed. Soon he would see her again and everything would work out. He still had a sinking feeling that it was too late. A knock at the door brought him out of his reverie and he frowned again. Who on earth would be calling on him now? Maybe he could ignore it. The knock came again and Brian sat up, pushing himself off the bed to walk to the door. Another knock on the door. “Alright, I’m coming.” Brian said as he looked through the peephole of the door. He blinked and looked again before tearing the door open, his heart pounding in his chest. “Belle!” |